Freshwater ecosystems of Mainland Ecuador: diversity, issues and perspectives

Celi, Jorge; Villamarı́n, Francisco

doi:10.1590/s2179-975x3220

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The impact of the latter type of stressors is very severe and interrupts the dynamics and ecological functions that normally are given by the site-specific conditions, the seasonal fluctuations of the physical-chemical variables, or the temporal patterns of rainfall, which determine the composition of aquatic invertebrate communities. Instead, biological communities decline dramatically in terms of abundance and diversity, and, in some cases, they even disappear from the impacted systems [9,54,61]. Comparable findings are reported in several similar studies in other tropical regions (e.g., [87][88][89][90][91]).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Variations in Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities and Biological Quality in the Aguarico and Coca River Basins in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Cabrera

Forio

Lock

et al. 2021

Water

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Adequate environmental management in tropical aquatic ecosystems is imperative. Given the lack of knowledge about functional diversity and bioassessment programs, management is missing the needed evidence on pollution and its effect on biodiversity and functional ecology. Therefore, we investigated the composition and distribution of the macroinvertebrate community along two rivers. Specifically, 15 locations were sampled in the Coca and Aguarico Rivers (Ecuadorian Amazon) and the macroinvertebrates were used to indicate water quality (WQ), expressed as the Biological Monitoring Working Party Colombia (BMWP-Col) classes. Results indicate that elevation, pH, temperature, width, and water depth played an important role in the taxa and functional feeding groups (FFG) composition. The results show that diversity of taxa and FFG were generally scarce but were more abundant in good quality sites. Collector-gathers (CG) were, in general, dominant and were particularly abundant at low WQ and downstream sites. Scrapers (SC) were the second most abundant group, dominating mostly at good WQ and upstream sites. Predators (PR) were homogeneously distributed among the sites, without clear dominance, and their abundance was slightly higher in sites with medium-low WQ and downstream sites. Lastly, both shredders (SH) and collector-filterers (CF) were almost absent and were more abundant in good quality sites. The findings of this research can be used as baseline information in the studied region since a dam was constructed two years after the sampling campaign, which has been operating since. Furthermore, the results can be used to fill the knowledge gaps related to the bioassessments of other similar systems, particularly for a tropical rainforest.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Variations in Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities and Biological Quality in the Aguarico and Coca River Basins in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Cabrera

Forio

Lock

et al. 2021

Water

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“…While major progress has been made on animal genome sequencing in the last 25 years, significant gaps and biases remain in geographic and taxonomic representation resulting in an improper depiction of the global genetic pool (Hotaling et al, 2021). Ecuador, for instance, has a limited record of genetic and genomic research (Zambrano-Mila et al, 2019) despite its sizable biodiversity (Celi & Villamarín, 2020). This is a multifaceted issue resulting from the lack of sequencing platforms, training in genome data analysis and research costs (Hotaling et al, 2021).…”

Section: Importance Of Reference Genomementioning

confidence: 99%

Genome Report: First whole genome sequence and assembly of the Ecuadorian brown-headed spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps fusciceps), a critically endangered species, using Oxford Nanopore Technologies

Pozo,

Quintana,

Larreátegui

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The Ecuadorian brown-headed spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps fusciceps) is currently considered one of the most endangered primates in the world and is classified as critically endangered (IUCN). It faces multiple threats, the most significant one being habitat loss due to deforestation in western Ecuador. Genomic tools are key for the management of endangered species, but this requires a reference genome which until now was unavailable forA. f. fusciceps. The present study reports the first whole genome sequence and assembly ofA. f. fuscicepsgenerated using Oxford Nanopore long reads. DNA was extracted from a subadult male and libraries were prepared for sequencing following the Ligation Sequencing Kit SQK-LSK112 workflow. Sequencing was performed using a MinION Mk1C sequencer. The sequencing reads were processed to generate a genome assembly. Two different assemblers were used to obtain draft genomes using raw reads, of which the Flye assembly was found to be superior. The final assembly has a total length of 2.63 Gb and contains 3,861 contigs, with an N50 of 7,560,531 bp. The assembly was analyzed for annotation completeness based on primate ortholog prediction using a high-resolution database, and was found to be 84.3% complete, with a low number of duplicated genes indicating a precise assembly. The annotation of the assembly predicted 31,417 protein-coding genes, comparable to other mammal assemblies. A reference genome for this critically endangered species will allow researchers to gain insight into the genetics of its populations and thus aid conservation and management efforts of this vulnerable species.

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“…It is clear that the freshwater fishes of Ecuador are under grave threat (Barriga, 2012 ; Celi & Villamarín, 2020 ; Jimenez‐Prado et al ., 2015 ). At least one marine species that enters freshwater, the critically endangered largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis (Linnaeus, 1758), seems to have gone functionally extinct in Ecuador and is now extremely rare or locally extinct (Dulvy et al ., 2016 ; Mendoza et al ., 2017 ).…”

Section: The Threatened Freshwater Fishes Of Ecuadormentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation threats and future prospects for the freshwater fishes of Ecuador: A hotspot of Neotropical fish diversity

Aguirre

Alvarez‐Mieles

Anaguano‐Yancha³

et al. 2021

Journal of Fish Biology

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Freshwater fish communities in Ecuador exhibit some of the highest levels of diversity and endemism in the Neotropics. Unfortunately, aquatic ecosystems in the country are under serious threat and conditions are deteriorating. In 2018–19, the government of Ecuador sponsored a series of workshops to examine the conservation status of Ecuador's freshwater fishes. Concerns were identified for 35 species, most of which are native to the Amazon region, and overfishing of Amazonian pimelodid catfishes emerged as a major issue. However, much of the information needed to make decisions across fish groups and regions was not available, hindering the process and highlighting the need for a review of the conservation threats to Ecuador's freshwater fishes. Here, we review how the physical alteration of rivers, deforestation, wetland and floodplain degradation, agricultural and urban water pollution, mining, oil extraction, dams, overfishing, introduced species and climate change are affecting freshwater fishes in Ecuador. Although many of these factors affect fishes throughout the Neotropics, the lack of data on Ecuadorian fish communities is staggering and highlights the urgent need for more research. We also make recommendations, including the need for proper enforcement of existing environmental laws, restoration of degraded aquatic ecosystems, establishment of a national monitoring system for freshwater ecosystems, investment in research to fill gaps in knowledge, and encouragement of public engagement in citizen science and conservation efforts. Freshwater fishes are an important component of the cultural and biological legacy of the Ecuadorian people. Conserving them for future generations is critical.

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Freshwater ecosystems of Mainland Ecuador: diversity, issues and perspectives

Cited by 13 publications

References 34 publications

Variations in Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities and Biological Quality in the Aguarico and Coca River Basins in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Variations in Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities and Biological Quality in the Aguarico and Coca River Basins in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Genome Report: First whole genome sequence and assembly of the Ecuadorian brown-headed spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps fusciceps), a critically endangered species, using Oxford Nanopore Technologies

Conservation threats and future prospects for the freshwater fishes of Ecuador: A hotspot of Neotropical fish diversity

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